Terry who refuses to go back!

Texan. Latina. Wife. Mom. Former teacher. Horticulturist.

[Terry who refuses to go back! @lareinetherese]

Watching the discourse at my county council meeting is both enlightening and infuriating. They continue to prove that they don’t give a fuck about what the citizens want and only what feeds their egos and pockets.

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

In 2012, the people of Ireland were asked to choose their favorite painting in the world.

They did not choose a Caravaggio, a Vermeer, or a Monet. They chose this: two lovers saying goodbye on a staircase...

It is called Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs, painted in 1864 by Frederic William Burton. It is a watercolor, which makes its richness and depth almost impossible to believe, and it hangs today in the National Gallery of Ireland.

The story comes from a medieval Danish ballad. Hellelil, a noblewoman, fell in love with Hildebrand, the prince who had been assigned to be her personal guard. Her father forbade it and ordered her seven brothers to kill him. When they attacked, Hildebrand killed six of them. At Hellelil's desperate cry, he spared the youngest, and that hesitation cost him his life. He died of his wounds. The surviving brother imprisoned her, and she did not live much longer...

Burton could have painted the battle. He could have painted the deaths, the grief, the blood. Instead he chose the one intimate moment before all of it: the lovers passing on a turret staircase, stealing a final embrace, knowing what is coming.

And every detail in the painting carries the weight of that knowledge. He does not seize her in passion. He bows his head and kisses her arm with a tenderness that is almost unbearable, because it is goodbye. She does not collapse into him. She turns to climb the stairs, her face hidden from him and from us, because to look back would make it impossible to leave.

The Victorian novelist George Eliot saw the painting and described it perfectly. The face of the knight, she wrote, is "the face of a man to whom the kiss is a sacrament."

And that is precisely why it has moved people to tears for more than a hundred and sixty years. It shows something that most of us have felt: not love at its beginning, when it is easy, but at the moment it must be given up, which is the moment that reveals everything it was worth.

Burton understood that the most powerful thing he could paint was not the tragedy itself, but the last gentle second before it arrived, held forever in paint, so that the two of them never have to climb those stairs apart.

Eliot, who was a friend of Burton's, captured it best: "It might have been made the most vulgar thing in the world, but the artist has raised it to the highest pitch of refined emotion."

I started this newsletter because our predecessors left us extraordinary things, and almost no one teaches us about them anymore. Every week I try to. If that is something you would like to be part of, you can join here:

https://t.co/hgJUdR0jlx

And if you'd like to support my work, a paid subscription is what makes it possible.

Thanks for reading.

[Sammi🦋 @StoriesBySammi]

The U.S. government just made a land deal with the world's first trillionaire. Not a sale. A trade.

Because apparently that's how we do things now.

715 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge - built by Congress in 1979 to protect one of the most biodiverse wildlife corridors left in North America - handed to SpaceX.

Endangered ocelots. Aplomado falcons. Piping plovers. Land the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas has called sacred since long before there was a United States.

SpaceX built a rocket launch site next door. Then came the explosions. Concrete and metal hurled six miles across refuge land. A 2024 study found that after one launch, every single monitored shorebird nest near the site suffered egg damage or loss. The Fish and Wildlife Service's response was not enforcement. It was a land swap.

FOIA documents show internal planning for this transfer started as early as April 2025 - while Musk was running DOGE and threatening to fire federal workers who didn't justify their jobs to him. The agency developed what they called "the most expedited schedule possible" to get it done.

Part of what's being handed over includes the Palmito Ranch Battlefield - the site of the last battle of the Civil War. A National Historic Landmark. Once transferred, SpaceX can restrict public access whenever they want.

25,000+ people submitted public comments. Most opposed the deal. The government moved forward anyway.

A coalition of tribal and conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit this week to stop it. Because someone has to.

Why are we cutting real estate deals with a trillionaire when we could have just made him pay for it?

#DemsUnited

[Tara Blume @tcblume]

Science gasps for breath. They are removing all the ocean monitors to understand changes in currents and climate, and the excuse is a master class in obfuscation & double speak . (1/2) https://t.co/vs782YbcI3

[CONSEQUENCE @consequence]

Ronny Chieng had one message for Harvard grads during his commencement speech: destroy AI.

"Look, a lot of other respected graduation speakers in colleges around America are talking about you guys needing to master AI for the future. I'm here to tell you the mission of your generation is to destroy AI...

"And I know, I know there's someone sitting out here right now who’s just like, 'Well, you know, what about the use of AI to pioneer breakthroughs in medicine and physics?' Well, first of all, shut up, nerd. I'm not talking about that. Obviously, if you're using it for that purpose, you're not the problem.

"I'm talking about the accumulation of cognitive debt due to excessive use of large language models according to a study by MIT published in 2025. That's right, MIT. MIT did that study. I guess you guys were too busy giving each other A's. Feel free to boo MIT, by the way, and AI, and yourselves, I guess.

"Look, this is actually good news, okay? This is why you guys shouldn't be scared of AI, because I think AI is just going to end up making mediocre people dumber. Have you heard how dumb people brag about how they use AI? They're always like, 'Hey, did you know that AI can now read my email, summarize it, and drop a response?' Yeah, you know who else can do that? Me. I can do that. You can't do that? How useless are you? You need artificial intelligence just to match me? I'm a dumb*ss who couldn't get into Harvard.

"From what I can see, getting an actual advantage from AI in the future will require a minimum escape velocity of intelligence that I'm assuming you guys from Harvard have. Everyone else who can't match that is just going to get dumber, and that's when you run up the score on them, assuming we still have a functioning society, of course.

"But to run up the score, you’re going to have to master your craft. And AI can be the fuel, but fuel is useless if you can't kindle the fire. For example, I recently used AI to use regression analysis to prove that a certain race of people are mathematically terrible at sports. I won't say which race, but thank you for not inviting Hasan Minhaj to Harvard. My point is, learning the fundamentals still matter. If I didn't know what a regression analysis was, and if I wasn't fundamentally racist, would I have been able to do any of that? No.

"Untalented people love bragging about using AI to help them draft their speeches and their scripts and their podcasts and their promo videos for UFC fights at the White House, which to be fair, even if they had filmed that for real, it would still have looked like AI. But what they're missing is this: the creating is the fun part. The best part of comedy writing is figuring out the puzzle pieces of a joke and getting the self-regard from having accomplished a difficult thing. Why would I want AI to take that away from me?

"You know what problem I want AI to solve? I want the problem of AI making everything look like sh*t. I want AI to solve that problem. How about that?

"Or how about, can AI take away the part of comedy writing where my TV pilot gets passed on and when I ask if I can pitch it to someone else, the network says, 'We don't want it, but we also don't want anyone else to have it. We just want you to be sad.' Can AI solve that?

"I recently tried to introduce my friend to Buddhism through a book called Buddhism Made Simple. It was literally a book about Buddhism made simple. And instead of reading it, he used AI to summarize it in 10 seconds. Believe it or not, he didn't reach enlightenment. It turns out speed running Buddhism is completely missing the point.

"And I know this platitude is almost worthy of AI, but the reason shortcuts to skip to the end aren't always good is because the journey isn't just how we acquire skills. The journey is the point of all this. It is! It turns out maybe the real Harvard was the friends we made along the way.

"Look, I know this won't apply to everyone's industry, but I'm just saying whatever your chosen profession is, please don't let AI rob you of the fun part of it.

"I think your generation's upcoming battle won't be humans against AI. That's at least two months away. It's going to be people with substance versus people with shallow knowledge. It’s going to be mastery versus faking it. It's going to be people with good taste versus tacky. I trust you will put in the work necessary to be on the right side of those battles."

[LanaQuest aka RosaSparks @LqLana]

Hey MAGA Texans.

Let me introduce you to Adam Hoffman. He raped his son’s best friend from the age of six years old to nine years old. For three years this man raped a little boy.

Paxton made sure his buddy only got a 60 day sentence. Oh wait it gets better, he didn't even serve the full sixty days.

Wait wait, it's gets even better. He doesn't have to register as a sex offender and his record has been wiped clean.

MAGA maniacs want women to go to prison for miscarriages but are cool with pedophiles going free.

Ken Paxton is a disgusting criminal, that's why Trump endorsed him.

Make sure you have a plan to vote. @jamestalarico is what Texas needs. Not more of the Epstein Class.
#DemsUnited

[Brian Cardone 🏴‍☠️🇺🇦 @cardon_brian]

Take a couple of minutes and listen to this Republican history teacher on why he opposes the South Carolina legislature redrawing maps to eliminate the one district that has black representation. We need more Republicans to speak out on this. Volume up!!

[Fr. Chris Vorderbruggen @FatherChrisVor1]

The Pope removed his shoes in a mosque and people are outraged?
That’s not compromise. That’s basic respect.

If you enter someone’s home or sacred space, you honor their customs. We expect it in our churches. Why pretend not to understand it anywhere else?

[USask Museum of Natural Sciences @usaskmnatsci]

You’re never too old to love BTS @BTS_twt #CretaceousARMY #DopeOldPeople

[seeingbtsinamonth💜 @orul8ce]

Bighits press release on th mv 👏👏👏🔥🔥🔥🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 must read 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🫠

BTS Returns with Noir Vibes, Holding Back Scratchers, Taegeuk Fans, and Danso… “We couldn’t stop laughing at each other” (‘2.0’ MV)

BTS has returned with a noir concept.

At midnight on the 2nd, BTS released the music video for “2.0,” a track from their 5th full album ARIRANG, on the HYBE Labels YouTube channel. The music video pays homage to director Park Chan-wook’s film Oldboy. The members’ playful acting and styling, combined with direction that matches the song’s message, stand out.

As the worn-out elevator doors open, BTS appears dressed in suits. Facing off against rough-looking figures gathered in the hallway, the members step out of the elevator, exuding the aura of noir film protagonists with stylish suits and sunglasses. However, mismatched props like back scratchers, Taegeuk fans, danso (traditional Korean flute), and upside-down newspapers, along with fake beards, quickly create a humorous twist. Moving forward to the music, the members evoke the famous one-take “hammer action scene” from Oldboy, filmed in a narrow corridor. The flickering lights in rhythm and the comical movements of surrounding characters blend with BTS’s performance to create a unique sense of fun.

The core of the music video is the “2.0 LOADING” sequence inside the elevator. In the confined space, the members hurriedly change outfits and, with the line “We’ve finally arrived,” 👏👏🔥transform into the BTS the public knows. They then perform throughout an abandoned building, expressing the team’s current phase as they enter a new chapter called “BTS 2.0.”👀👀🔥🔥🔥

The structure starting in a shabby elevator and ending in a luxurious penthouse is also striking. The rough atmosphere in the early part recalls BTS’s journey of building themselves up from the ground. 👏👏🔥🔥🔥The scenes following the outfit changes and spatial transitions feel like watching them become icons of their era through hard work. In this way, the “2.0” music video metaphorically reveals BTS’s strengthened identity and the beginning of a new era.🔥🔥🔥🔥

The performance in the video is also a major highlight. The choreography of “2.0” features weighty movements, precise control of tempo, and a clear progression. It breaks away from performance patterns symbolizing the group’s past and delivers a fresh feeling, showing they have entered a new stage🔥🔥🔥.

BTS expressed special affection for the “2.0” music video. They said, “It feels like a video that shows our evolved performance. Since it’s a work that pays homage to a film, the filming process was fun. Most of all, we’ll remember dressing up to portray ‘old BTS’ in the beginning. While filming, we couldn’t stop laughing at each other.”🔥🔥🔥🔥👏👏👏👏🥹🥹🥹🫠😂

“2.0” is a hip-hop and trap genre track with an unconventional rhythm. It sings about BTS entering a new phase after change and growth. Lyrics like “Yeah, being like BTS isn’t that easy / Who keeps jumping over the vault like we do?” reveal their confidence and the effort they’ve put in. The song debuted at No. 50 on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated April 4).

https://t.co/HPyZ62yn4o

[TaeSG Hairlights @everythingTaeSg]

I really love “Into the Sun”. Thank you Taehyung for this masterpiece.

[Lee ⓥ 非 @vintagekv]

The ACTUAL story of how Into The Sun was made.

[Terry who refuses to go back! @lareinetherese]

@taeigiseok @borntaebeloved Diplo

[Netflix @netflix]

V

#BTSLiveonNetflix #BTS_ARIRANG

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

Let me get this straight.

The leading Senate Republican walked into the White House Sunday with a bipartisan deal to end the TSA nightmare. Fund everything except ICE now, get TSA agents paid today, handle ICE separately.

Senate Republicans and Democrats said yes.

Trump said no.

Why? Because Trump is holding TSA workers’ paychecks hostage to try and force Congress to pass the SAVE Act, a voter suppression bill that would knock millions of eligible Americans off the voter rolls. He wants to make it harder for Americans to vote.

Like a petulant child flipping the board when he’s losing, Trump torched a bipartisan deal his own Senate leader handed him on a silver platter. His tantrum continues as he unleashes ICE agents into airports. Agents with zero screening training, zero TSA authority, and a good chance of making everything worse.

Democrats have been ready to fund TSA from day one. What we refuse to do is write a blank check for an ICE agency that gunned down two American citizens in Minneapolis and still demands the ability to kick down doors without a judge’s approval while hiding behind masks.

We will not pass the SAVE Act either. Call it what it is: the SAVE REPUBLICANS Act. Non-citizen voting is already illegal. It was illegal yesterday. It will be illegal tomorrow. This bill solves nothing except the Republican party’s losing electoral math.

Fund TSA. Reform ICE. End this today.

Trump is the one standing in the way.

[Terry who refuses to go back! @lareinetherese]

@thvchapters Honestly, this should be a pinned PSA on all of BTS’ social media

[Reeh ♡ @taeprettyeyes]

Seriously i am never getting over this clip of taehyung

[miyav #vargaslover @miavtaehyung]

lavuğa bak her live performansından önce cd yutup stüdyo kaydından daha iyi söylediği için canlı söylediğine inanmayıp linçlenen ilk idol olabilir. arada sesini falan çatlat detone ol

[TG @taeguide]

I bring you Taehyung 2.0 fancam in HD

[누나비(NUNA V) @_nuna_V]

260321 태형이💜
<Like Animals>
#태형 #뷔 #TAEHYUNG #V